Apocalyptic Islam and Iranian Shi'ism

Apocalyptic Islam and Iranian Shi'ism PDF Author: Abbas Amanat
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0857710443
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
Interest in Shi'i Islam is running at unprecedented levels. International tensions over Iran, where the largest number of Shi'i Muslims live, as well as the political resurgence of the Shi'i in Iraq and Lebanon, have created an urgent need to understand the background, beliefs and motivations of this dynamic vision of Islam. Abbas Amanat is one of the leading scholars of Shi'ism. And in this powerful book, a showcase for some of his most influential writing in the field, he addresses the colourful and diverse history of Shi' Islam in both premodern and contemporary times.Focusing specifically on the importance of apocalypticism in the development of modern Shi'i theology, he shows how an immersion in messianic ideas has shaped the conservative character of much Shi'i thinking, and has prevented it from taking a more progressive course. Tracing the continuity of apocalyptic trends from the Middle Ages to the present, Amanat addresses such topics as the early influence on Shi'ism of Zoroastrianism; manifestations of apocalyptic ideology during the Iranian Revolution of 1979; and the rise of the Shi'i clerical establishment during the 19th and 20th centuries. His book will be an essential resource for students and scholars of both religious studies and Middle Eastern history.

Apocalyptic Islam and Iranian Shi'ism

Apocalyptic Islam and Iranian Shi'ism PDF Author: Abbas Amanat
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0857710443
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 306

Get Book Here

Book Description
Interest in Shi'i Islam is running at unprecedented levels. International tensions over Iran, where the largest number of Shi'i Muslims live, as well as the political resurgence of the Shi'i in Iraq and Lebanon, have created an urgent need to understand the background, beliefs and motivations of this dynamic vision of Islam. Abbas Amanat is one of the leading scholars of Shi'ism. And in this powerful book, a showcase for some of his most influential writing in the field, he addresses the colourful and diverse history of Shi' Islam in both premodern and contemporary times.Focusing specifically on the importance of apocalypticism in the development of modern Shi'i theology, he shows how an immersion in messianic ideas has shaped the conservative character of much Shi'i thinking, and has prevented it from taking a more progressive course. Tracing the continuity of apocalyptic trends from the Middle Ages to the present, Amanat addresses such topics as the early influence on Shi'ism of Zoroastrianism; manifestations of apocalyptic ideology during the Iranian Revolution of 1979; and the rise of the Shi'i clerical establishment during the 19th and 20th centuries. His book will be an essential resource for students and scholars of both religious studies and Middle Eastern history.

Gnostic Apocalypse and Islam

Gnostic Apocalypse and Islam PDF Author: Todd Lawson
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136622888
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 239

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Book Description
Of the several works on the rise and development of the Babi movement, especially those dealing with the life and work of its founder, Sayyid Ali Muhammad Shirazi, few deal directly with the compelling and complex web of mysticism, theology and philosophy found in his earliest compositions. This book examines the Islamic roots of the Babi religion, (and by extension the later Baha’i faith which developed out of it), through the Qur’anic commentaries of the Bab and sheds light on its relationship to the wider religious milieu and its profound debt to esoteric Islam, especially Shi'ism. Todd Lawson places the two earliest writings of the Bab within the diverse contexts necessary to understand them, in order to explain why these writings made sense to and inspired his followers. He delves into the history of the tafsir (Qur’an commentary) genre of Islamic scholarship, situates these early writings in the Akhbari, Sufi and most importantly Shaykhi traditions of Islam. In the process, he identifies both the continuities and discontinuities between these works and earlier works of Shi’i tafsir, helping us appreciate significant elements of the Bab’s thought and claims. Filling an important gap in the existing literature on the Babi movement, this book will be of greatest interest to students and scholars of Qur'an commentary, Mysticism, Shi'ism, the modern history of Iran and messianism.

Resurrection and Renewal

Resurrection and Renewal PDF Author: Abbas Amanat
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 488

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Book Description
"[Resurrection and Renewal] reflects extensive research by the author in the numerous Babi and Baha'i manuscript histories. From these he has succeeded in extracting much useful information and presenting it in an interesting and informative manner."--The Middle East Journal In historical writing of rare power, Abbas Amanat conveys the elation and terror that attend the birth of a new religious faith. Amanat here tells the story of the emergence of Babism, the forerunner of the Baha'i religion, in the mid-nineteenth century; its rapid spread into various sectors of Iranian society; and its fatal confrontation with the clerical establishment and the Qajar state.

Islam, Literature and Society in Mongol Anatolia

Islam, Literature and Society in Mongol Anatolia PDF Author: A. C. S. Peacock
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108499368
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 313

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Book Description
A new understanding of the transformation of Anatolia to a Muslim society in the thirteenth-fourteenth centuries based on previously unpublished sources.

Sociology of Shiʿite Islam

Sociology of Shiʿite Islam PDF Author: Saïd Amir Arjomand
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004326278
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 498

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Book Description
Sociology of Shiʿite Islam is a comprehensive study of the development of Shiʿism. Its bearers first emerged as a sectarian elite, then a hierocracy and finally a theocracy. Imamate, Occultation and the theodicy of martyrdom are identified as the main components of the Shiʻism as a world religion. In these collected essays Arjomand has persistenly developed a Weberian theoretical framework for the analysis of Shiʿism, from its sectarian formation in the eighth century through the establishment of the Safavid empire in the sixteenth century, to the Islamic revolution in Iran in the twentieth century. These studies highlight revolutionary impulses embedded in the belief in the advent of the hidden Imam, and the impact of Shiʻite political ethics on the authority structure of pre-modern Iran and the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Art, Allegory and the Rise of Shi'ism in Iran, 1487-1565

Art, Allegory and the Rise of Shi'ism in Iran, 1487-1565 PDF Author: Kia Chad Kia
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
ISBN: 1474450407
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 234

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Book Description
Transforming our understanding of Persian art, this impressive interdisciplinary book decodes some of the world's most exquisite medieval paintings. It reveals the hidden meaning behind enigmatic figures and scenes that have puzzled modern scholars, focusing on five 'miniature' paintings. Chad Kia shows how the cryptic elements in these works of art from Timurid Persia conveyed the mystical teachings of Sufi poets like Rumi, Attar and Jami, and heralded one of the most significant events in the history of Islam: the takeover by the Safavids in 1501 and the conversion of Iran to Shiism.

Islamic Messianism

Islamic Messianism PDF Author: Abdulaziz Abdulhussein Sachedina
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780873954426
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
The first comprehensive study of the idea of the Mahdi, or divinely guided messianic leader.

Iran

Iran PDF Author: Abbas Amanat
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780300248937
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
A masterfully researched and compelling history of Iran from the sixteenth century to the twenty-first

Reason, Esotericism, and Authority in Shiʿi Islam

Reason, Esotericism, and Authority in Shiʿi Islam PDF Author:
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004465502
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
This volume advances the critical study of exegetical, doctrinal, and political authority in Shiʿi Islam. It presents new frameworks for interpreting the diverse modes of rationality and esotericism in Shiʿism and the socio-epistemic values they represent within Muslim discourse.

Authority and Political Culture in Shi'ism

Authority and Political Culture in Shi'ism PDF Author: Saïd Amir Arjomand
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 079149523X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 416

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Book Description
The major theme of this book is authority in Shi`ism with special emphasis on its institutionalization in different historic periods from the beginning of Shi`ism in the Middle Ages to the present. Part I presents new material on important or neglected issues that are at the center of current scholarly debate, including the fundamental relationship between knowledge and authority in pristine Shi`ism, aspects of popular culture in medieval Shi`ism, the institutionalization of religious authority in Shi`ite Iran from the 16th to 18th centuries, and the centralization of religious authority in the 19th century. The editor provides an analysis of the ideological revolution in Shi`ism during the 1970s and 1980s. Important documents and primary sources have been selected for Part II representing the major trends in the history of Shi`ism. With two exceptions, these sources have neither been available in English translation nor easily accessible in the original Arabic or Persian. An extensive introduction by the editor effectively connects Parts I and II of the book.